Cotton price spike to hit: RMG
September 5, 2010
Bangladesh ready-made garment (RMG) salesmen may have to re-price their imported fabrics if spiking prices for cotton continue in international markets, spinners said yesterday.
Cotton prices surged to a 15-year high yesterday on increased demand, fuelled by speculation of reduced supplies after crop damage in Pakistan, said A Matin Chowdhury, managing director of Malek Spinning Mills Ltd, a major importer of cotton.
BGMEA lauds govt decision to revive 270 sick RMG units
August 21, 2010
BGMEA Thursday appreciated the government’s latest decision of reviving 270 sick garment factories to help rehabilitate the units by resuming production.
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) in a statement said the decision has proved that the government is industry and labour-friendly.
RMG looks to good time
August 10, 2010
The contribution of readymade garment (RMG) to the national export increases with the rebound of orders from international buyers following a recovery in the global economy, according to trade data of the Export Promotion Bureau.
The share of RMG products reached 77.17 percent in the July-November period from 77.15 percent in July-October of the current fiscal year.
During the July-November period, the country exported woven garments worth $2.13 billion and knitwear items of $2.59 billion totalling $4.72 billion.
The share of woven garments in the total exports of the country was 34.84 percent and that of knitwear (including sweater) was 42.34 percent, the data said.
During the five-month period, the total national export was worth $6.10 billion.
In fiscal 2008-09 the RMG contribution was 79.33 percent, while woven segment added 38.02 percent and knitwear items 41.30 percent.
Bangladesh exported woven garments worth $5.92 billion and knitwear worth $6.43 billion in 2008-09, registering growths of 14.54 percent and 16.48 percent respectively compared to the previous year.
Shahadat Hossain Kiron, managing director of Dekko Group, said the flow of orders from the international buyers was higher this winter compared to the last season as the global economy is recovering from the recession.
“The number of orders outpaced the capacity of my factories,” Kiron said.
Chairman and Managing Director of SQ Group Ghulam Faruque said the situation is improving as the buyers are placing more orders.
“The trend of order placement indicates that the country’s apparel export will go to its previous high level at the end of the year,” he said. But the perennial problem of offering low prices by the buyers remained the same, he added.
The sign of recovery in the RMG export is also seen in the increasing trend of consumption of Utilisation Declaration (UD) by the exporters from their respective trade bodies.
Bangladesh had been experiencing a negative growth in UD consumption for the last few months because of low orders following the global recession.
The UD consumption improved in January by 4.0-5.0 percent compared to the same month last year, according to Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) data.
“But the concerns for Bangladesh are the sudden price hike of cotton by 25 percent on international market and yarn price rise on the local market by 30 percent as the Free on Board (FoB) value remained static,” said BGMEA President Abdus Salam Murshedy.
If a commodity is quoted on an FoB basis it means the cost of the goods and their loading on to a ship are included but not the insurance or freight charges.
He said the exporters’ cost increased as they have to send the goods by air to maintain the lead-time.
Recently the exporters are continuously failing to maintain the lead-time due to failure in on-time production caused by low gas pressure in the plants, he said.
reefat@thedailystar.net
Delegation off to US for duty-free access bill
April 21, 2010
A Bangladeshi delegation yesterday left for Washington to lobby for passage of a bill that will provide duty-free access for Bangladesh apparels to the US market. Read more
RMG makers seek govt steps to pass duty-free bill in US Congress
April 14, 2010
Bangladesh garment makers on Tuesday requested the foreign ministry for taking initiatives to pass much expected New Partnership Trade Development Act in the US Congress to get duty free access. Read more
Business leaders see more apparel exports to India
April 13, 2010
Bangladeshi apparel exporters look to a wider market in India following the prime minister’s recent visit to the next-door neighbour.
They said India has also agreed to increase duty-free import of Bangladeshi garments to 14 million pieces a year from eight million now.
“This time, we did not see any negative attitude from India, as we did in the past,” said Abdus Salam Murshedy, president of Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), at a press conference at Dhaka Sheraton Hotel. Read more
Muhith: RMG exporters to get stimulus in a month
April 13, 2010
Finance Minister AMA Muhith has assured readymade garment exporters of implementation of the government’s Tk 1,000 crore second stimulus package in a month.
“To finalise the package for the RMG sector within the stipulated time, another taskforce, with the central bank officials at the helm, has already been formed,” Muhith told reporters after a meeting with the leaders of BGMEA and BKMEA at his office in Dhaka yesterday. Read more
Bangladesh gets Moody’s rating, outlook stable
April 13, 2010
Credit rating agency Moody’s Investors Service yesterday for the first time assigned Ba3 to Bangladesh and termed the country’s outlook stable.
The rating was released about a week after Standard & Poor’s assigned BB- to the country amid much acclaim by the government and economists. Read more
Accolades for exporters
April 7, 2010
The government has given away national export trophies — 33 gold, 15 silver and 11 bronze — to exporters for their outstanding performances in fiscal years 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08.
Wal-Mart chief meets RMG leaders
April 7, 2010
C Douglas McMillon, president and CEO of Wal-Mart International, left Dhaka on Friday after a short, unannounced visit.